The conventional gumi candies have been made by mixing water, sugar, starch syrup, citric or other acid assisting setting, a setting agent, a buffer solution of e.g. sodium citrate or acetate for preventing too rapid solidification of a solution of materials as poured into a mold, a flavoring material giving the flavor of e.g. apples or peppermint, and a coloring agent. Gelatin has been used as the setting agent in the amount of, say, 3 to 19% by weight relative to the total weight of the materials including water and the flavoring material (see Japanese Patent Application laid open under No. Hei 6-70704).
The conventional gumi candies have, however, melted at, say, 40-45.degree. C., and been unable to retain their shape. It has, therefore, been impossible to sell them by an automatic vending machine exposed to an ambient temperature of, say, 80.degree. C. under the blazing sun in midsummer.
Besides gelatin, agar and pectin are known as a setting agent used in ordinary jellies, and it may be possible to use agar or pectin as a setting agent for gumi candies.
If agar is used instead of gelatin, however, there have been cases in which setting is prevented by citric or other acid used for assisting setting.
If pectin is used instead of gelatin, it is possible to make gumi candies having satisfactory heat resistance. They cannot, however, be called gumi candies any longer, since they lose their characteristic elastic resistance to biting off with the teeth, though they may be somewhat tough and elastic to the touch.
Japanese Patent Application laid open under No. Hei 5-68481 discloses gumi candies made by using both gelatin and pectin, but the pectin in those candies is used not for improving their heat resistance, but merely for making a change of materials so that two kinds of gumi candies may not melt with each other during casting by a double depositor. Those candies contain only a small amount of pectin not exceeding one-twentieth of that of gelatin, and melt at, say, 45.degree. C.
It is an object of this invention to solve the problems as pointed out above, and provide gumi candies which retain good consistency even at a high temperature without having any undesirable lowering in elastic resistance to the teeth.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method which can make gumi candies having good consistency even at a high temperature, a good elastic resistance to the teeth and a good appearance, while containing an extract of persimmons as an oral deodorant.